Distributing device



March l0, 1931. G. R. WEBBER 1,796,133

DIjsTRIBUTING DEVICE Filed Jan. 9, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l In veIzo7 Marchlo, 1931. G R, WEBBER 1,796,133

DISTRIBUTING DEVICE Filed Jan. 9, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 umm/flaw@ March1o, 1931. Q R WEBBER 1,196,133

DISTRIBUTING DEVICE Filed Jan. 9l 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 umll'mllln @imMrch 10, 1931. G. R. WEBBER DISTRIBUTING DEVICE Filed Jan. 9, 1928 4Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Mar. 10, l1931 UNITED `STATES PATENT OFFICEGEORGE R. WEBBER, OF AUGUSTA, MAINE,.ASSIGNOR TO POLAR VEND CORPORATION,

OF AUGUSTA, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE DISTRIBUTING DEVICEApplication `filed January 9, 1928. Serial No. 245,347.

My present invention is immediately concerned with the Vending ordistribution of perishablecommodities or at least those deleteriouslyinclined. Such commodities involve by their very nature variousdifliculties in mechanical distribution. The thermal factor involvedimposes ditliculties heretofore consideredl insurmountable and whichhave thwarted attempts to proceed on previously 1o accepted bases ofdistribution or mechanical sales.

Of these difficulties some of the most troublesome have been those ofproviding for refrigeration or thermal maintenance especially inconnection with display visibility, the maintenance of temperatureduring dispensing, and the combination of display and vending featuresin such apparatus.

Following my inventive concept involved I am able to produce apparatushaving all these desired factors and to produce machines adapted forserviced distribution and vending at vreasonable cost and reliability.

As an illustrative embodiment I have shown in the accompanying drawingsa machine embodying the principles in novel structure and vdet-ail andthrough such illustration I will describemy invention. In the drawingsparatus in accordance with my mvention.

Fig. 2 is a vertically sectioned View of thel same.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the lower part of the machine through thedelivery.

Fig. 4 an ice tank type of cooler in section.

Fig. 5 a fragment partly in section of a carbondioxide cooling core.

Fig. 6 a detail of the return movement in side view.

Fig. 7 a partial plan ofthe lower side of the base to l Fig. 8 afragmentary section through the dispenser stacks.

Fig. 9 a detail of a stack latch.

Fig. 10 a sectional detail of the stack cylinder and drive.

Fig. 11 a detailof the operating knob, the cover being partially brokenaway.

Fig. 12 a partial central vertical section` of Fig. 1 is a general viewof a dispensing apthe operating mechanism similar to that shown in Fig.2, but on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 13 is a similar view showing it coin operated,` and Fig. 14 afragmentary view in section of the coin control.

The type of machine illustrated is intended for the display,distribution or vending of small perishable articles. Specifically' thesmall packages shown are yeast cakes and while the machine shown iscapable of handling almost any commodity its capacities are wellillustrated by such a use.

In fact mechanical merchandising is an art involving psychological aswell as mechanical` factors and the accomplishment of results or theattainment of a desired end may depend as well on subtle display as onexact mechanical thermo cell manipulations.

In the machine shown the entire display is visible from all sidesthrough the transparent dome l. This dome l is a double wall glass bellhaving an insulating space 1l exhausted and sealed with a proper degreeof vacuum whereby the dome will maintain itself free from internalcondensations which would be obstructive of the view of the displaywithin. This feature of visibility is an important' one. Insulatingcovers even ofthe dome type have been proposed and while visibility indisplay devices has been known to be desirable the actual possibilitiesof the transparent vacuum venclosure for a dispensing device was notdeemed possible especially with refrigeration. In fact, the transparentthermo-dome is in itself a new device in the art. It will be furtherdiscussed later..

The base 2 of the machine is an annular casting having an internalflange 21 on which is supported a circular insulating ioor or deck 3.Below this the base provides a chamber 4 sealed by abot-tom plate 41.Within this is the actuating mechanism for dispensing and the coin box Bwhen the machine is used with a coin control as at X in vending.

vThe deck or oor 3 as shown is made up of a main disc of Baltha woodfaced with hard l rubber 31 with an interposed layer of cork 32.

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60 ."For the present discusslon the axis shaft 61 Y Before proceeding toa 32 is supported an annular rack 51 which supports the cylindricalstack shell which I- have generally indicated as 5. The stack shell 5has' spaced about it and carried by it a series of stack tubes in whichthe product which in the example shown are cakes of yeast, are loadedfrom the top and through which they feed by gravity.

The floor disc' 3 isprovided with a trap door 3A through which a cake Cmay drop. The gravity stacks 50 have releasel stops 53 which drop a cakeC-Which is carried around on the surface of the plate 31 until itreaches the trap 3A which automatically'snaps open to discharge the cakeC into the chute S and immediately closes.

The shell 5is perforated as at 51 for air.

circulation as shown in Figs. 3 and 8, and is fitted with a perforateddisc 52 constituting a t chamber for a refrigerator of any type such asR (Fig. 2 or 5) or R Fig. 4). Such a refri 'erating unit is there orecentrally dispose with respect to the perishable products to beprotected and at the same time concealed from view so that it does notdetract from'the sales efciency of the machine in its display effect andsales urge. f

The machine 1sv manually operated by means of the hand knob70, and suchactuation is' transmitted to the stack shell by means of a verticaldrivel shaft lvjournaled in a tubular bearing-62 inthe axis of the stackshell 5. The bearin 62 is mounted in the center of the floor isc 3landat its upper end affords a bearing for the gear 63 which is pinned tothe sha-ft 61.V The gear 63 drives the internal gear 51 through threesmaller interposed gears 64 on Athe shafts 65 (Fig. 10) which havebearing at their lower ends in the plate 31 and at their upper ends inplate 66l supported byand spaced from the plate 31 yb the posts 67. Thisprovides for a conceale internal actuation (step by step) of the displaystacks and Y at othe time leaves the stack shell 5 internally free foruse as a refrigerant chamber as before described. y t v detaileddescription of the various structures involved, I

vvill briefly describe the operation ofthe parts heretofore gener-allydescribed. In this it is necessary to bear inv mind the three-foldgeneralfunctions-of the machine so far .in-

'dicated, t at is, display, dispensing and refrigeratlo I am for thepresent di-sregarding vendingv and coin control Which Will be y dealtvvithl later. As regards these three Operating knob 70 at the base ofthe machine,

functions, it Will be noted that they are combinative, that is,dispensing, display-refrigerated dispensing, and. display dispensing.

may be regarded as merely rotatable from the intermediate connectionsbeing leftifor later y description.

vtion of the stack is circulative.

It will be supposed that the machine has been serviced, itsrefrigerating unit R or R1 in place and functioning, its stacks 50filled (with yeast cakes -C or other product) and all suitably displayedto the public as an attractive and convenient supplyof the product. Y

Upon the rotation of the hand knob 70,

the shell 5 is turned through a part of a y revolution, and with it theentire display land supply rotated so that a stack 50 is brought overthe trap 3A. through which it is discharged into the delivery chute Sand thus to the customer.

, It is to be. generally noted that `in'such operation the lovvermostcake Chas been separated from its stack so that it is itself fullyexposed to the standard temperature of the enclosure, especially as tolts upper side which had been previously in contact` with that of thecake next above it in stack assembly.

Furthermore, the next cake to it which will be next brought in circuitfor delivery has its bottom face exposed to the enclosure temperature sothat prior to bottom surface contact with the plate 31, it will have achance for individual thermal readjustment'. Thisv provides for a shiftof faces of contact for4 the cake C.

Again, as to. the individual stacks as re gards their successivealignments with the trap 3A, although the action of this. trap is almostinstantaneous it does of necessity admit air of higher temperaturethanthat of the chamber of the machine. This has heretofore been consideredso serious that, a lock or caisson system had been thought necessary. Iam able, however, by successlve discharges from a series of chutes 50 tocompensate within the chamber for any warm air penetration of the stackWhile it is over the open trap. Also, the very rotastructure is suchthat it constitutes almost a fan member of intermittentvrotation but Ydelinitely circulative.

, The admitted air is thereforedistributed and -its temperatureneutralized or usually diluted by the colder chamber air. In this Wayavery constant thermal level is maintained so that the refrigerant hasonly to provide a slight adjustive contribution to the maintenance ofthe desired temperature to be maintained.

In such a device the problem as I have con-v The stack tailed structureas it contains many novel features of general utility in devices oftheseveral classes referred toand for many of which I desire protectionwhether singly or in combination.

The base as before described is an annular casting somewhat flaring atits lower part and cylindric at its upper part. The base is providedwith an insulated deck 3 heretofore described, through which passes thevertical operating shaft 61 which rotates the stack shell 5 in thedispensing operation. The vertical shaft 61 is driven by a beveled gear68 from an intermeshing gear-81 on a horizontal drive shaft whichextends to what may be termed the front of the machine where it enters ahousing 120 which is attached to the front of the base 2 as indicated inFigs.`1 and 2, and closes an opening in front of the base 2 throughwhich opening the shaft 80 projects. On this housing 120 is mounted'theoperating knob 70 previously referred to and in it is located coincontrol apparatus when the machine is used asa vending machine.

For the purposes of the present application the coin control mechanismmay be considered as of any desired type so that details in regard tosuch mechanism are not necessary. It will be understood that suchmechanism will provide suitable control connection between the'. knob 70and its shaft 71 and the gear 72 which meshes with the gear 73 on theshaft'80. The operating knob 70 has a pawl and ratchet drive 70L (Fig.11) for the shaft 71 and the shaft 80 is in effect a rock shaft, itsreturn after each actuation being effected by a drum 82 on which ispartially Wound a chain 83 attached to the spring 84 which is anchoredto the inside of the base 2. (Figs. 6 and 7).

The pinion 81 is loose on the shaft 8() and driven by a cam disc 85which provides for a step by step rotation of the vertical drive shaft61 of the stack shell. On the shaft 80 is also mounted a pinionoperating a rack 91 on a slide 92. The slide 92 has a slotted dependingarm 93-to whichthe trap 3A is connecteclby a stud 94 on a bracket 95.vAs the slide 92 is withdrawn by a pinion 90, the stud 94 travels down inthe slot of the bracket 93 until the top level of the trap 3A is alignedwith the chute S so that the cakes C will be discharged directly intothat chute from f. which they may be removed by the purchaser.

In this delivery announcement is conveniently made by a small bell BLstruck by a tapper b tripped by a star wheel b1 on the rear end of'theshaft 80. The trap 3A is closed immediately upon each full actuation bythe action ofthe return spring 84 so thatthe discharge opening is closedas promptly'as possible consistent with full delivery.

I have heretofore in the description of the general constructiondescribed the mounting and drive of the rack carrying shell 5 andpointed out how by reason of its bottom support and drive there isprovided an internal refrigerating chamber for the cooling unit R. Aboutthe shell are disposed the tubular turned lips 51 which hold the cakesin the usual manner while exposed through the outer face opening asbefore described. The radial spacing of the racks 50 on the shell 5leaves gaps which afford vertical ventilation and provide a space forplates 52 which may be utilized fordisplay advertising thus increasingthe sales efficiency of the machine and through an appearance ofcontinuity adds to the attractiveness of the display. On the open frontof each of the racks 50 adjacent the bottomthereof is the release stopor presser member 53 which is pivoted to the sides of the tube at 54(Fig. 9) and held down by the spring 55. This presser member bearsbetween the lips 51 and is so disposed as to press upon the second andthird cake from the bottom of the stack (this including the bottom cakewhich is on its orbital movement to the delivery trap 3A). This presser53 is tripped immediately after the bottom cake is dropped through thetrap 3A. This is accompllshed by the engagement of the presser 53 by thecam 56 (Fig. 8) on the base of the machine. As the stack moves past thiscam,

the presser 53 is pushed outwardly allowing g.

the entire stack to drop until the bottom cake comes in contact with thesurface of the plate 31 over which it continues to ride until its stackis brought into alignment with the tra-p 3A.

In the machine shown and as before described provision is made fordefinite refrigeration, as such a commodity as a yeast cake unless veryfrequently serviced, requires a lstrict maintenance of temperatures. Formany commodities where thermal maintenance is not-so important, actualrefrigeration may not be needed in a machine as perfectly insulated asthat herein shown. However, refrigeration is an important factor in sucha machine and this may be very easily provided by the utilization of therefrigerating chamber within the shell 5. I have indicated at R a flashpreferably a vacuum flask vcontaining carbon dioxide closed by a stopperT. This may be a porous stopper as indicated in Fig2 in which case theporosity is of such a character as to permit a very slight constantescape of the carbon dioxide which lowers the temperature ongasification. Where a more definite control is employed, I use animpervious closure Tl (Fig. 5)- havinga thermostatic loop U carrying avalve V adapted to seat in a vent V1. In thisway a more lll definitecontrol'may be effected with more certain maintenance of temperature.

As an al'ernative method of refrigeration, the dispenser may be'cooledby' an ordinary ice tank as indicated at vRl inFig. 4. This may be asimple can with a perforated partition 1 for supporting the ice belowwhich is left a chamber r1 in which the drip water is v pensed and thedisplay of the held un il the machine is serviced.

I have heretofore pointed out the importance of visibility of thearticles to be dissame and the importance of these as sales factors.

- difficulty of doing ihis and doing it in an inan undesirablecondition. In this connection the construe ion of myl dome member ll isof very greatimportance.

This1 member consists of an external and internal dome sealed togetherat their lower edges and with the walls preferably brought inparallelism throughout. The dome form I 91 which is preferable eventhough diicult to make, but is va commercially producable form and oneof great attractiveness Iand /eiiiciency The space between the walls isexhausted as to its air so as to produce'as complete a vacuum aspossible. its eficiency as an insulating wall but is also important inthe avoidance of condensations on the inside of the inner wall. The domemay be attached in any convenient manner as by a clamping ring 110 heldby keys 111 interlocked with the upper edge of the base 2 within whichthe lower edge of the dome 1 rests. The dome 1 rests on the surface ofthe member 3 and is insulated by it and by an insulating ring 112 whichkeeps it from contact with the metal of the base.

The mechanical operation as heretofore suggested 2is by hand actuationof the knob 70 which through the shaft 71, gears 72 and 73 rocks theshaft 80 against the action of the spring tates the stacks 50 one step,bringing the bottom yeast cake of the registering stack in line with thetrap 3A which at the same time is opened through the pinion 90 and therack moves the slide 792 to open the trap as heretofore described. Thismovement is limited by the driving cam 85 which with its stopped by thelimitation of cooperating spring pressed stud 851 release when thepartial rotation of the shaft 80is movement imposed by the stop pin 821.The spring 84 then pulls on the chain 83 to rotaterthe drum 82 thusreturning theshaft SQ to its original position.

The

Thisis not only amatter of 84. T-his turns the Ishaft 61 and' ro` Inthis operation, it is to be noted that`the stacks 50 are successivelymoved up to and away from the trap 3A so that no stack is directlyexposed tc atmospheric temperature except for the moment of delivery.Furthermore, due to the location ofthe cam 56, the bottom cake of thestack from which delivery has last been made is dropped so that thestack is immediately unsealed at its bottom and thus exposed to themaintained low tem-l perature of the chamber. Furthermore, it is to benoted that any air penetrating from the outside is given no opportunityto work up through the stack but is circulated by the rotation ofthestack itself 'so that any warm pockets are avoided and the air of thechamber kept uniform or uniformly mixed and distributed not only by thenormal tendency of the warmer air to rise and the cooler air to bedisplaced, but by the circulatory movement induced by the stack itself.This is not only a factor of efficiency in the refrigeration as such,but tends to prevent any localization of moisture due to less favorableexposures of the machine at one side than at another.

Such circulationmight, of course, be provided for by special apparatusbut I find that my circular stack operates in itself in a highlyeficient manner and that no other parts are needed to produce theresults.

The machine illustrated is as before explained merely described asintended for use in dispensing yeast cakes in order that the reason orthe construction of certainparts will be made more-clear. However, muchof the mechanism even though detailed is of general utility in this artas will be indicated in the claims. While desirable, much of this detailmay be varied and equivalents sub-v stituted. For example, the rockshaft 80 may be extended through and beyond the rear side of the casing,as shown in Fig. 2, to permit the clerk to operate the machine withoutreference to the coin lock and operating lmob 70, Where the machine issimply used as a dispensing and refrigerating unit without reference tocoin-controlled vending. For such purpose, any detachable handle fittingthe projecting rear end of the rock shaft may be used to rock saidshaft. Furthermore, and as at rst pointed out, the machine considered asillustrative in its broadest sense has certain broad features eachcapable of independent use but all importantly related in actualcombinations. Such broad combinations are therefore also indicated inthe claims.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a distributing machine, and intermittentlyrevoluble articlemagazine, a delivery member cooperative therewith, a ring gear carriedby said magazine, a drive shaft 'disposed axially of saidring gear andoperatively connected therewith, an operating member a rock shaftactuated therefrom, a spring return for said rock shaft, an intermediateshaft having a pawl and ratchet drive with said rock shaft and itselfoperatively connected with said maga-zine drive shaft, and a shaftdriven from said intermediate shaft and carrying said delivery member.

2. In a distributing machine, and intermittently revoluble articlemagazine, a delivery member cooperative therewith, a coincontrolledoperating shaft and a free operating shaft each independently dominantupon said magazine and delivery mechanism, said shafts alined with eachother, the coin-controlled shaft provided with a rigidly attachedoperating handle and the free shaft provided with a detachable andremovable operating handle, and motion transmitting connections betweensaid shafts and said magazine and delivery member. -Y

f In testimony whereof I affix my signature. c A GEORGE R. WEBER.

